Pets are family, and much like we do for family, we tend to take photographs to preserve the precious moments with our pets.
But photos, even framed, might seem a little cliché these days. For those who are looking for a more artsy alternative, pet portraits may be the way to go.
Marilyn Benson, acrylic paint artist
Marilyn Benson is an English-born acrylic painter who has dedicated almost 10 years to her craft. She spends eight or more hours per day in her Orcutt studio (which also happens to be her home) painting landscapes as well as portraits—including dog portraits.
Inside her sun-lit painting room, various portraits of dogs hang from the walls or rest against the floor. The vibrant colors represent several breeds, such as English bulldogs and shih-tzus. Working mainly from photographs, Benson carefully constructs canine representations on canvas. She paints her portraits on gallery wraps, which is canvas stretched and secured around the wooden frame. The idea of gallery wraps is to present a frameless painting.
Benson prefers to paint full breed dogs.
“It’s harder to paint mixed breeds,” she said.
The reason why full breeds are easier to paint is because she already has a pre-conceived notion in her mind of how a full breed should look, which makes it easier for her to construct the image on canvas. Different breeds present different shapes.
Lately, dog portraits have become a popular item in Benson’s studio. And she enjoys making pet portraits because it’s a way of helping her clear her mind for her other projects.
Benson paints more than just dogs, of course. She began her career painting after losing a job at a genetic counseling office. Wondering what to do with her time, she took up painting English cottage settings, utilizing impressionist techniques. Then, she began painting landscapes of beaches she calls the “Florida look” and portraits of ethnic women. Her series California Gold includes paintings of various landscapes in California. Benson admits that when she first started painting, she wasn’t very good.
“The first ones were awful,” she said, adding that she was also hesitant to put herself out there. “Being English, I was extremely reluctant. I thought one shouldn’t promote oneself.”
But then people began appreciating her work. The more she kept painting, the better she became. She was at the Zaca Mesa Winery one day having wine delivered to her vehicle when the person making the delivery noticed a painting in the backseat. They suggested that Benson do an art show, which terrified her at first. But she did it anyway, and it essentially launched her career as a working artist. Last year, Benson was awarded Best of the Best at the Grapes and Grains Festival.
She charges $30 to $40 for smaller paintings and around $400 for bigger ones. She also accepts commissions. It takes several days to a week to develop a portrait.
Her art can be viewed on display until mid-January at the CORE Winery, 105 West Clark Ave. in Orcutt.
Minnie Anderson, sketch artist
Stepping inside the studio of her home on Cherry Road in Orcutt, you can tell that Minnie Anderson is a very busy lady. With drawings covering the walls and cluttering nearly every inch of her studio, it’s where she spends several hours per day drawing portraits with a No. 2 pencil. She was naturally drawn to sketching portraits by hand to keep herself busy growing up in Kansas. Her earliest memory of making portraits was at the age of 3. For her, it was a way of entertaining herself on the lonely prairie of Kansas.
Looking back, she called it her “iPad.”
Fast forward more than a half a century later, and Anderson is still making portraits, and now she does it for a living. She’s been making portraits and selling them for more than 15 years.
Specializing in portraits, she draws animals and people, charging $150 per face. Her sketches are done with impeccable detail, and she usually completes them within a week. All she requires is a photograph of what you want drawn and 50 percent down. Normally Anderson averages about one drawing every week, but during the holidays she keeps extra busy, producing up to four per week. Anderson also makes Christmas cards with her sketches on them for her customers, and hires herself out for parties at $100 per hour.
Nothing is beyond her reach.
“If something’s really hard, I don’t think about it, I just do it,” Anderson said. “Because if you do [think], you will stumble.”
Two of the more memorable pieces she’s done are portraits of racehorses Giacomo and Justice, two multi-million dollar horses from Magali Farms in Santa Ynez.
Anderson is prolific, and her work has appeared in Home by Design— a magazine published by Anne Jackson out of Las Vegas—and on the official Grapes and Grains Festival posters for 2004 and 2005. Anderson also illustrated a children’s book, Bea’s Birthday Surprise.
Anderson’s art has been recognized locally, too, winning Best Local Artist for the Sun’s Best Of Northern Santa Barbara County readers poll for 2014.
In addition to sketching portraits, Anderson paints, producing what she calls pop art. Her paintings include abstracts as well as still lifes. Some of her art is for sale and on display at the Santa Maria Inn at 801 South Broadway. Her art is also on display at Gallery Los Olivos located at 2920 Grand Avenue.
Memorialize that pet
Painter Marilyn Dover Benson can memorialize your pet on canvas with the stroke of paint. To get your pet painted by Benson, call (805) 314-2202, or email her at [email protected]. To see more of her paintings, visit her website fineartbymarilyn.com.
Graphite artist Minnie Anderson uses a simple No. 2 pencil to sketch your pet with fine detail. To get in touch with Anderson, call (805) 937-4882 or visit her website minniezart.com for examples of her work.
Staff Writer David Minsky wants to adopt a dog just so he can get it painted. Contact him at [email protected].
